February marks Black History Month. Commemorate this month by tuning in to a variety of talks and presentations from leading Black experts, engage with short films about the African diaspora at MOA, and be dazzled by an exhilarating display of acrobatics and West African music at the Chan Centre.
Black History Month events
Unsplash/Clay Banks
Black Lives Matter in Italy and the Legacy of Colonialism
Tuesday, February 8 | 11 am – 12:15 pm | Online
Free
Hear from Italian-Ghanaian filmmaker and activist Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, whose documentaries deal with topics such as racism, interracial relations, diversity, Afro-Italians and Black diasporic identity in Italy, and the African diaspora in the world. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session.
Sankofa Film Festival: Films from the Diaspora
Saturday, February 12 | 11 am – 3 pm | Haida House
Free with museum admission
Presented in conjunction with MOA’s new feature exhibition Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots, this mini film festival features a series of short documentaries about the African diaspora in the Americas. Through these films, engage with the hidden histories of Canadian urban planning projects and their impacts on historic Black Canadian communities, and celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage that has survived through centuries.
Visual Politics: Documenting Black Western Canadian Diasporic Cultural Production
Thursday, February 17 | 4 pm | Online
Free with registration
Join Nya Williams, curator, founder and director of BlackArt Gastown and programmer for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival for a seminar on the histories of Black cultural production in Western Canada. Williams will offer a critical overview of the contemporary social, historical, and political landscape by examining six notable and underrepresented works by Black Canadian artists.
Unsplash/SincerelyMedia
The Black German Heritage & Research Association Conference 2022: All Black Lives Matter
Thursday, February 17– 20 | Online
Free with registration
Participate in a virtual conference entitled “All Black Lives Matter: Black Germany and Beyond.” Co-sponsored by the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies, the conference will consist of panel talks, keynote presentations, and workshops from a variety of speakers.
Sankofa Exhibition Tours
February 19 & 26 | 3 pm | Museum of Anthropology
Free with museum admission
Sankofa features works by both African and Black Canadian artists, in conversation with objects in MOA’s permanent collection. These one-hour exhibition tours will give participants the opportunity to engage with the themes and ideas of the exhibition through diverse perspectives. On February 26, Stephanie Allen, co-founder of Hogan’s Alley Society, will participate as guest speaker alongside MOA curator, Nuno Porto.
Image by Peter Graham
Chan Centre Presents: Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque
Thursday, February 24 | 8 pm | Chan Shun Concert Hall
Tickets: $15-$80
Combining theatre, dance, music, and some utterly astonishing physical feats, don’t miss this high-flying, audaciously athletic feast for the senses. The 12-piece Montréal-based troupe fuses long-established African arts and European circus traditions to showcase exceptional dancers, contortionists, gymnasts, and equilibrists, as well as a group of highly skilled musicians.
Other Arts events
The Phil Lind Initiative Presents: Douglas Rushkoff
Thursday, February 3 | 6–7:30 pm | Online
Free
The School of Public Policy and Global Affairs is thrilled to host Douglas Rushkoff, world-renowned philosopher, futurist, and author, for this free online event as part of their 2022 Phil Lind Initiative series on “The Future of Media.” In this inspiring talk, drawing from his new book Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, Rushkoff will offer a new program for business in the digital landscape.
Key Messaging: Effectively Articulating the Whys and Hows of your Research
Tuesday, February 8 | 12 pm | Online
Free with registration
For academics, explaining the depth and complexity of your specialized research for those outside your discipline or for the general public can be challenging. Join Dr. Hagwil hayetsk/Charles Menzies (Anthropology), Craig Stensrud (English), and Alex Walls (Media Relations) for a panel discussion and interactive workshop on articulating your research for a broad audience.
The Compass: Arts Prof Talks with Dr. David Gramling
Wednesday, February 16 | 12 pm | Arts Student Centre
Free
Join Dr. David Gramling, professor and head of the Department of Central, Eastern, & Northern European Studies, in a conversation on language learning and multilingualism. Learn about the different types of linguaphobia and how to overcome them to navigate an increasingly globalized world. Arts Prof Talks is part of a series of events in The Compass: Arts Student Engagement Hub.
Visual Art Undergraduate Exhibition 2022
Showing until February 18 | 12 – 4 pm | AHVA Gallery
Free
Support the work of your peers at the first visual art undergraduate exhibition since 2020. The show, which features new student work from second and third-year visual art courses, will have over sixty printmaking, painting, textile, drawing, sculptural, and digital works on display.
